Apparatus for cleaning dust-laden air.



No. 845,364. I PATENTED FEB. 26, 1907.

A. LOTZ.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING DUST LADEN AIR.

- APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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witnesses No. 845,364. PATENTED FEB.26, 1907.

A. LOTZ.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING DUST LADEN AIR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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AUGUSTUS Lorz, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO SANI- TARY DEVICES MANUFACTURING FoRNni.

COMPANY, A CORPORATIONOF CALI- APPARATUS on, CLEANING DUST-LADVEN AIR...

Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Feb. 26, 1907.

Application filed March 24, 1906. lierial No. 307,836.

To all whom it may concern:

Be.it known that I, AUGUSTUS Lo'rz, a citizen of the United States, and-aresident of the city and county of San Francisco,-State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning Dust-Laden Air, of

My invention relates to improvements in apparatusfor the cleaning of dust-laden air,

and is particularly applicable to the cleanse ing of the air discharged from pneumatic carpet-cleansing apparatus, its object being to providemore efficient means for the freeing of the air from the particles of solid matter held in suspension so as to discharge only thoroughly-purified air to the atmosphere and protect the pump through which the air must pass before it is discharged into the atmosphere fromundue wear.

In the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved apparatus, showing a dry separator in which the greater portion of the solid matter is deposited by gravity, a wet separator through which the air is passed from-the dry separator, the devices inter mediate of. the two separators for washing the air, and the vacuum-pump to and through which the air passes from the system. Fig. 2 ,is aplan view of the same. Fig. 3 isa detail sectional view of theair-washingdevices inter'mediateof the two separators, taken on line :10 m of the Fig. 2; and B tion of part of Fig.8. v

-In the drawings, A represents the dry separator, which consists of a hollow vertical cylinder 2, resting upon a suitable standard 3.

4 is an intake-pipe entering the top of the cylinder at such an angle as to impart a spiral motion to the incoming air, and 5 is an outlet-pipe leading from the. center of the conically-shaped head or top 6.

B is the wet separator-tank or expansionchamber, consisting of a similar hollow cylinder 7, from the conical head 8 of which the outlet-pipe 9 conveys the air to the vacuumpump 10.

11 is a vacuum gage to indicate-the airpressure; and 12 is a water-gage to show the eight of the water in the separator. j

13 is an outlet-pipe for draining the fouled contents of the separator into the sewer.

which the following is a shown in the drawings.

ig. 4 is a modifica- 1 14 is a clamp operated by the screws 15 to hold in place the door .16, which closes an opening into the bottom of the separator.

17 is a pipe connecting the tops of the two separators, having a check-valve 18 for equalizing pressure therein.

19 is a pipe connection to the separator B for introducing water into the same for the purposes hereinafterd'escribed. y

The air is conveyed from the wet to the dry separator through the conduit F, made up of the pipe -5, the washing devices C and D, and their connectedpi es 2 1, 25, and 27.

The device C is an ejector y means of'which water is atomized by the current of air passing therethrough. 20 is an annular chamber surrounding the pipe-nozzle 21, being supplied with water from-the separator B by means of the pipe 22.

It isdesirable to admit the Water from the annular chamber into the conduit equally on all sides of the pipe and to be able to adjust its flow. The preferable means for accomplishing this result is The nozzle 21 is connectedto the pipe-section 25 b a flangecoupling. the parts being of such imensions that when assembled and adjusted for the minimum flow the members 23 and 24 of'thc coupling abut directly against each other, as

shown in the drawin s. This leaves a narrow annular passage between the conical tip of the nozzle and the conical seat 26 of the adjacent pipe-section. Should it be found desirable to increase the inflow of water to the conduit, this may readily be done by disconnecting the coupling and inserting washers or gaskets between the members, thus increasing the width of the annular passage.

" D is a mixing-ch amber i'or commingling the air and entrained watery vapor t O SC11I thethorou gh wetting 01' ev ery particle oisr spended d1: st, so th atwhen discharged throi gh 'the pipe 27 into the separator Bthe water is allowed to condense and carry vsith it the solid matter asit falls into the hottom of the separator. The mixing-device D comprises a casingfcrming a chamber 28, extending 'above and below the connected pipe-sections IOO' 25 and 27. Extending diagonally through I the chamber and interpc sed between the pipesections is the diaphragm 29. Upon or fcrming a part'of the chamber 28 is a glass dome or cylinder 30, designed for exhibiting to the eye the mingled currents of vapor and air to disclose the working of the apparatus. Preferably this glass portion is a simple cylinder seated upon the top of the chamber 28 with a suitable interpcsed gasket 31, forming an screw-threaded rods 34 and nuts 35 serving to detachably hold the parts together.

Through the diaphragm or deflecting-plate 29 extends a short vertical pipe 36, preferably of substantially the dimensions of the pipes 25 and 27, and which serves to connect the same to form a continuous passage. 37 is a removable plug in the bottom of the chamber 28 to give access to the same for the purpose of cleaning.

' The various parts of the conduit F are united together by means of flanged unions in the ordinary way. i

Fig. 4 shows a modified form of mixingchamber E. The pipe 25 is connected with and opens into the bottom of this chamber, which has a superposed glass top or dome 30, the same as the mixing-chamber D. Centrally and vertically arranged in the chamber is a pipe-section 38, the top or inlet end of which projects above the levelof the pipe 25 and extends downward, having a rightangled bend with means for connecting to the pipe '27.

The operation of the apparatus, ,while readily apparent from the drawings and'the foregoing description, maybe specifically set forth as follows: The tank or separator B having been supplied with water to a height less than that of the outlet of the pipe 27 and the vacuum-pump 10 being set in action, air

is drawn from the cleaning-tools (not shown) through the pipe connection 4 into the separator A. Herein the air is rotated spirally and the heavier portions of the suspended solid matter precipitated by gravity. Thence the partially-cleaned air passes out through the pipe 5 and the described cleaning devices.

The air in rushing through the nozzle 19 serves as in an ejector to draw in the water from the chamber 18 and by its force finely atomizes it and entrains the vapor, carrying it more or less commingledtherewith into the mixing-chamber E. Therein the currents are deflected by the plate or diaphragm'QS) and forced to circulate in the upper part of the chamber and the glass dome 30, thence descending through the pipe-section 36 into .the lower portion of the chamber, and thence outward through the pipe 27 into the separator B. The air is carried through the conduit at a speed of'two or three miles a minute, and the frictional contact of the mingled air and watery vapor currents with the inclosing and deflecting walls between the nozzle 1.) and the separator B suffices to so thorou hly agitate and commingle the two lluids that practically every particle of suspended dust is thoroughly moistened and precipitated by gravity with the water as it chamber or separator B and pours into the bottom of the separator, the cleansed air passingout. from the separator B into and through the vacuum-pump 10.

In the modified construction of Fig. 4 the is carried into the chamber E and forced to circulate in the top thereof and descend through the vertical pipe 38, the two fluids being agitated and ccmmingled in substantially the same manner and with the same efficiency as in the mixing-chamber D.

I claim 1. The combination with a narrow pipe, of means for forcing air therethrough at high velocity, means for admitting water to said pipe, a nozzle adjacent said water-inlet adapted under the action of the air-current to entrainjand atomize the water, and means 'in the codduit beyond the nozzle for commi-ngling the atomized water and air, separating/the solid matter from the air and entrai nin it in the water and discharging the purifie air freed from the water and solid matter.

2. The combination with a narrow conduit having a lateral water-inlet, of means for forcing air through such conduit at high velocity, a mixing-chamber comprisin tortuous passages arran ed in said conduit beyond said water-inlet, "and means whereby the air-current entrains the inflowing water and violently connningles it with the air in j their passage through said chamber,

3. The combination with a narrow conduit 5 having a'lateral water-inlet, of means for forcing air therethrough at hi h velocity, a mixing-chamber beyond said water-inlet, 5 tortuous passages connecting said mixingchamber with said conduit, and means whereby the aivcurrent entrains the inflowing water and violently commingles it with the air in their travel through said tortuous passages and chamber.

4. In apparatus for cleaning dust-laden air, in combination with a vacuum-pump, a narrow sectional conduit for confining and conveying the air to said pump, and an annula-r chamber surrounding the adjacent ends i of the conduit-sections and-connected with a source of water-supply, .theadjacent ends of the conduit-sections being provided the one with a conical seat and the other with a conical tip fittedv thereto and slightly spaced therefrom to afford communicating passage between the same from the annular chamber to the conduit.

5. In apparatus for cleaning dust-laden air in combination, a vacuum-pump, a coni duit for connecting the same with the cleaning instrument, means for precipitating the entrained solid matter by gravity,-a waterair having entrained and atomized the water is condensed from the air in the expansicninlet to said conduit intermediate said gravlty separating means and sa1d vacuumpump, an atomizing-nozzle adjacent said wa-- tor-inlet and adapted under the action of the interconnecting narrow conduit, a tortuous 15- section in said conduit, means for introducing a water-s ray into said conduit-intermediate of the ry separator and tortuous section, and means or im elling the air through said conduit at high ve ocity.

7. In apparatus for cleaning dust-laden air, in combination with a vacuum-pump, an air-conveyingsystem lntermediate said pump and the source of air-supply comprising a gravity-so arator, awet separator: or expansion-cham er, an intermediate narrow, secint.

tional conduit, and an annular chamber surrounding the adjacent ends of its pipe-sections and connected with the source of Water-supply, the end of one ofsaid pi e-sections having a conical seat and the en of'the adjacent section having a conical tip fitted thereto.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a dry or gravity separator, a wet separator or expanslon-chamber, a connected vacuumpump, a narrow sectional conduit intermediate of said separators, a water-chamber around the adjacent ends of the pipe-sec- ;tions of said conduit connected to the source of Water-supply, said pipe-sections constituting an ejector, and a tortuous section of said conduit intermediate of said waterchamber and wet separator.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of February, 1 906.

AUGUSTUS LOTZ.

Witnesses:

1 H. L. HAND,

MATTHEW BRADY. 

